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Sticke Day, Final
Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 6:15 AM

The mash tun at at Ureige.

We are soon joined at the Ureige table by John Byzek, an American working as a brewer here. Fred met him here exactly 9 months ago on January 20 (the only other day of the year that a Sticke is released!), which was his first day on the job at Ureige!

John graciously takes us on a tour of the brewery and bottling and kegging operations, showing us, among many things, the kühlschiff, or coldship, the shallow basin which sits atop the brewery in which the wort cools. Amazingly, and not too different from Belgium’s lambic brewery Cantillon, the screened windows are open, obviously allowing some microflora into the process. So much for a strict reading of the Reinheitsgebot, eh?

Other interesting info: The brewery starts a new batch every 7 hours and each ferments for 18 hours. Ureige has been brewing since 1862 in this building, which dates back to the 1400s. Everything but the front wall was destroyed in the WWII bombings; the rest was rebuilt in the old style.

Following the tour, John joins us for lunch — and more Sticke! By the time we leave Uregie at 3 pm, I am definitely feeling the alcohol…

Sticke Day, part 2
Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 1:20 AM

Uregie Weizen, left, and the Sticke.

Turns out Uregie also brews a Weizen beer (using the same Alt yeast), and sells it bottled. The warriors tell me it’s more of a “girly” drink, for those who find the Alt too bitter (mostly woman presumably), so Danise acts as my beer beard and orders one. The Wiezen naysayers are right; it’s pretty mediocre, more akin to a wheat beer from a US brewpub. But I had to try it as I never heard of it before. And may never see it again…

Sticke Day, Part 1
Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 2:50 PM

A barrel of Ureige Alt ready to be served on Sticke Day Eve.

10/20 STICKE DAY!

After a quick breakfast at the hotel where most of us are staying, we meet several of the Veteran Sticke Warriors, headed by tour organizer and German beer expert Fred Waltman, at some still-locked doors. This is not the entrance to Ureige but to an underground department store, that just so happens to have a tiny Ureige pub inside (not unlike the English pub inside Harrod’s in London).

We finally get in, go down the escalator, into the door by the makeup department, through the fresh produce section and into the pub. A Ureige barman brings out a small barrel, unplugs the bunghole and taps it. We are immediately drinking fresh Ureige Alt, at the only place in town you can get it today as it is Sticke Day and the main facility, Zum Ureige, is only pouring the special Sticke Alt, not the normal one, starting at 10 am this morning.

Speaking of which…

Sticke Day Eve in Düsseldorf
Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 1:46 PM

“Tomorrow Sticke.”

Then it’s on to another Alt brewery/restaurant, Füschen. where the beer, like at Schumacher was not as hoppy as Uerige’s. The food was all German-style and mostly meat, so I hadda please my pescetarian palate with a baked potato covered in North Sea micro-shrimp.

Walk by the river. And decide to hit the Zum Uerige restaurant (we were at the across-the-street patio earlier) for another of their regular Alt, as tomorrow only the Sticke beer will be available. The banner on the Uerige sign in the window silently and subtlely says it all (in German, of course): “Tomorrow Sticke”. It’s a low-key mostly Locals Only thing.

Yes, tomorrow is Sticke Day, the impetus for all us Pacific Gravity folks to be in Western Europe at this time. Stay tuned.

Sticke Warriors unite!
Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 5:15 AM

An Alt bier toast at Schumacher.

A gorgeous day when we arrive in Düsseldorf. After checking in, we walk a couple blocks to the famous Brauerei Uerige, brewers of the great Düsseldorf Altbier.

There we meet about a dozen friends on their annual Sticke Warriors tour, beer fans who are in town for the semi-annual one-day only release of Sticke (means “secret” in a local dialect), a special version of the Alt, which happens tomorrow. Many of the folks are also members of our Culver City Homebrew club, Pacific Gravity. We walk over to the webcam at a nearby Platz, to pose for a live portrait, visible to East at 6 pm (9 am California time). Then on to Schumacher, another Alt brewery/bar.

Trans-Europe Express (mit bier)
Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 2:13 AM

Lest you think all French beer sux…

Up early for breakfast, then to train station to make reservations for our train to Düsseldorf (3 trains), the last leg of which we have reserved seats.

The sun is shining as we train alongside the Rhein from Manheim, steamrolling on to our final destination whilst listening to D-dorf’s favorite Techno sons, Kraftwerk, perform “Trans-Europe Express,” “Autobahn” and other Krautrock klassix on the iPod nano as we munch on homemade sandwiches and share the can of Belzebuth (11.8%, lest ye forget). To accompany our brownie dessert, we have the great Swiss brewery, Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes’ La Torpille, a fruity and spicy Brune with an abv of 7.5%.

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